How Flossing Helps Your Oral Health

Posted April 11, 2017.

If you’ve ever visited a dentist, you probably understand that you should brush your teeth every day for two minutes at a time. You might also understand that you should set up appointments with us once every six months. Finally, you might have been told that flossing should be an important part of your oral care, but have you been told why?

As you might know, keeping your teeth clean is important to your oral health. If you don’t, you could ultimately have to deal with cavities and tooth decay. However, did you know that you might have decay or cavities in any part of your mouth? This means that missing a part of your smile could lead to these issues. This makes flossing extremely important because you shouldn’t try to clean certain parts of your mouth with your brush. If you do, you could actually hurt your gums or your teeth. Fortunately, if you floss, you can clean these areas efficiently.

Of course, you should floss correctly if you’re interested in keeping your teeth healthy. For example, did you know that you should clean your hands before you floss? Similarly, you should pull the floss up and down and not side to side. Similarly, while you may think flossing hard is better for your oral health, you should actually floss gently. If you don’t, you could accidentally damage your gums. Finally, please remember to use a clean section of floss each time you start to clean a different tooth.

If you’d like to learn more about flossing properly, we invite you to give New Smile Dentistry in Richardson, Texas, a call at (972) 231-9591. Our dentist, Dr. Dawn A. Wu, and our team will be glad to inspect your teeth and offer you personalized advice. We’re excited to meet with you soon!